Path of the Paladin: New Life
by Insanity's Prophet
Summary: The world groans as bored Gods play with the strings of fate. Jaune is spared from a path of death to act as their puppet on strings and a new form of entertainment. Follow Jaune and company as they fight their destiny to forge a new path of their own. Epic-Length adventure fic. Multiple perspective.
1. Chapter 1

Howdy All,

Welcome to the re-written version of Path of the Paladin! Since my previous update, I have gone through a divorce, a death in the family, a new job, and moved!

Lovely!

I am starting off with a warning, this is not at all like the previous iteration. I am keeping the name because I like it, and is thematically accurate to the style of writing I want this book to follow. Otherwise, this is a brand new world with new rules and 'different' characters. We will still be following Jaune, but I am stepping away from first person. Path of the Paladin … the old one, was my first venture to first person writing and it damn well showed. I am vastly more comfortable with third person.

Anyway. Expect weekly updates on the weekends.

This is being cross posted to Ao3 for our international friends with FF connection issues.

— Prologue: The Gods of Boredom —

"Checkmate, I win again." A short _click-clack_ rang out to the endless void as the black knight piece took the last remaining rook on board. A malevolent grin spread on the God of Darkness' face, though his brother would never see it with the featureless figure he wore.

"I believe that is five million and nine wins to your two."

Most people would find two omniscient and omnipotent Gods playing a game of chess strange.

"I swear you are cheating, I actually _know_ you are cheating." The God of Light said as he grabbed the marble board in one hand and disintegrated it with a flash of cleansing light.

"I can never prove it though and that is frustrating."

The Dark Brother chuckled, "That was surprisingly aggressive coming from the God of 'Graceful Losers'". He punctuated the insulting title with air quotes before rising from his dark throne. The inky void surrounding the pair cracked and groaned as specks of light coagulated together, roughly splitting their infinite domain by shade of color.

"It would seem that spending so much alone time with you has rubbed off on me." With a defeated sigh the golden being stood from his opulent throne and updated the board keeping track of his loses.

"Given enough opportunities I am sure to catch up to your impressive win streak."

A single formless eyebrow rose on the Dark Brother's face, "I find that… incredibly difficult to believe."

A pause.

"Though, I have been considering our current predicament." The Dark Brother waved a lazy hand to the void around them; visions of a very old project crystallizing into view.

"I grow bored of our petty games brother, and I have an unique solution to our interesting problem."

At this the Bright Brother turned, facing his kin and the images of a broken moon and shattered planet.

"We left the humans centuries ago to fester and die; but to my great surprise they flourished despite my children's best efforts." With this, the Dark Brother expanded the images to full moving pictures. Flashing images of death and carnage scrolled across their view.

"This planet represents our works from a very long time ago, and I believe it is time to return."

The Light Brother frowned, taking in the fruits of their creation.

"This is all well and good, but didn't we say we would only return if they used those trinkets to summon us?" Raising a hand to his cheek, the Bright Brother pondered the idea. "Besides, where are you going with this?"

With another hand gesture each screen flickered to the same image.

"A solution to our boredom, and a method for you to even our score."

-Nicholas Arc-

Nicholas Arc had been told more than once in his life that child birth is a beautiful thing. Driving now to the hospital to welcome his fifth child into the world, he tended to disagree.

"Nic, somethings wrong."

Lilly Arc laid back in the seat beside him, her hand pressed to her belly as both faintly glowed. Her Semblance controlled the speed of time around her a few feet out, and it was currently being used to protect her yet unborn child as the pair of them sped through the city.

"Nic… Nicholas something is wrong." Lilly grabbed the door frame as the car took a particularly sharp curve. The Arc family home is situated on the south-eastern region of Vale in one of the quieter communities; the distance wouldn't be an issue under normal circumstances.

"Just hold on honey, we are almost there." His voice calm despite the circumstances, "We'll be there soon."

Soon turned out to be a ten minute drive that would have taken thirty under regular traffic. Nic rounded the last corner with a growing frown, he could sense the blooming feeling of _wrong_ as well now.

Vale Medical Center is a three story plaza placed in the center of the large city. It stood tall surrounded by meter thick walls and one of the older style portcullis gates blocking the entrance. The dust-reinforced gate is currently slammed closed, a holographic sign warning of imminent Grimm assault. Ah, there it was, that sinking feel that he had been forcing back for the past few minutes. _Shit_.

"Okay, new plan. Unbuckle, I'll get us through th-"

A warning klaxon, three rapid high to low pitch alarms, bleared in the clearing as PDC cannons sparked to life atop the imposing wall. Nic's eyes widened in fear, they had run out of time. The car door opened on Lilly's side and a woman wearing a nurse's uniform spoke in a calm but hurried voice.

"We have been expecting you, please, this way." And as she gestured towards the front gate, a claw exploded from her front chest. The PDCs fired a single dust round through the sneaking Beowulf's head; solemn howls filled the clearing in rage. With eyes wide, she pulled out a simple metal card and shakily handed it to Lilly.

"Hurry. That will let you through." The nurse let out a final gasping breath before falling forward with deadened eyes. Outside the car now, Lilly bit her lower lip and stared at her belly. The warning klaxon sounded an additional three times. Her decision made, she released the hold of her semblance around her tummy and placed both hands in front of her as Nicholas slide to her side.

"What are you doing, we don't have time!" Nic is a kind soul, and could see her plan, but three more Beowolves broke through the clearing. They were promptly taken down by the automated systems, but they wouldn't be able to handle any of the larger Grimm on their own.

"We always have a few moments." Lilly said as an emerald mist began falling off her form. A transparent green cube surround the corpse and, with a jittering rhythm began to stand. Watching his wife's semblance in action always struck him with a sense of awe and wonder; its' sheer flexibility made her one of the most requested Hunters in the guild. Standing beside her now as a dead woman gained consciousness was no different. With the blood stain receding around her sternum, Nic grabbed her still unconscious form before it dropped. The nurse had next to no muscle and is easily enough to deadlift. Turning to usher Lilly forward, Nic felt the weight of the world fall on his shoulders as he turned around and saw his wife unconscious after over exerting her semblance.

A horde of twenty Beowolves broke through the tree-line behind him.

His eyes began began to glow an ominous red. Anger and frustration bloomed in his chest, and lucky him he had some targets to take it out on.

With a forward hand gesture, the parking lot between his car and the front gate vanished, temporarily erased from this reality. The space in between rapidly closed, shrinking the distant trek to a single step. He swiped the metallic card on a reader beside the front portcullis and the metallic bars revealed themselves to be hard-light structures and vanished. He tossed the healed but unconscious nurse into the front courtyard and gingerly reached down to princess carry Lilly. Steadying her on one arm, his right hand reached towards the Grimm leaving the forest. With a thought and a clenched fist, the displaced parking lot exploded into existence where the Grimm once were, eviscerating the beasts with the displaced air and terrain.

The iron-like bars reappeared behind him as he stepped through.

On the other side, two male nurses were sprinting towards him with a gurney; a third running towards their fallen co-worker.

"Mr. Arc, please place the patient here." The rhythmic thump-thump-thump of the PDCs mostly overwhelming their conversation.

They had made it, and he prayed to every god he could think of that it was in time.

-Gods of Boredom-

"Their child dies from trauma, the mother following soon after due to complications from child birth. The father blames himself. _Yada yada yada_." The Dark Brother flippantly tosses his hands back and forth while giving details on the child's short life. "A boring end to a boring family."

The Bright Brother shifts back to lean against his throne; a frown forming on his face as he stares pensively into the scrying orb, "I fail to see how this cures our issue, one I wasn't even aware we had but a few moments ago."

"You mean to tell me you aren't bored? Millions of life times have come and passed with each breathe we take; yet here we are having done nothing different. No new worlds to build or break. No new peasants to worship the ground you walk on. Nothing. We stand outside of time for what? Our combined stubborn pride? That witch spat on your feet and yet we were the ones to turn tail and flee! " The Dark Brother screamed.

The Bright Brother shifted, leaning forward and staring into his brother's not-eyes.

"You forget so easily, brother, that WE made a deal. WE forged the rules of that world, WE agreed to be bound by those laws. We said that we would not return until the the relics were one. I can no more bend those rules than break them even if I wanted too. Nether can you."

A time passed where neither spoke.

"And no, our games do not bore me."

-?-

_Dumb, deaf, and blind_.

They cannot feel, cannot see, nor hear the scope of existence around them. Time has no meaning, space immeasurable, reality is muddied with dirty water.

_They are dumb, deaf, and blind_.

But they feel the world around them with unmoving stone fingers

But they hear the shifting of ancient plates as they slam into each other with forces that can not be measured.

But they see with eyes that have never viewed light.

_They are dumb, deaf, and_

"Save my unborn child. Please. I know it's not too late."

Fear, rage, hopelessness, anger.

A molten core churns in anguish with emotions they have never felt.

They are deaf and blind.

-Nicholas Arc-

"Mr. Arc, I assure you we have our best medical staff assisting your wife and child. While she may have been admitted in critical condition, her aura is stabilizing and her vitals are following that trend. I urge you, please remain patient."

Patience had never been Nic's forte, and though the nurse practitioner would be doing a fantastic job of calming a normal expecting father down…

"Sixteen hours of hard labor has killed lesser women." Nicholas said, "My Lilly is a great woman, but everyone has a breaking point."

"Mr. Arc, I must insist that you sit." And for the first time since arriving, the NP placed his hand on Nic's shoulder.

And damned near lost it as the blade of a green dust weapon evaporated into air a centimeter into his arm, a thin line of blood trailing to a drip on the floor.

But, for the first time since yesterday morning the fretting father's world crystallized into view.

The New Parents waiting area is maybe thirty feet wide by seventy feet long. It's green walls swirled with light lavender swirls that seemed run into each other at random points. The clerk stationed at the front desk, the only other person in view, looked pale with wide eyes and her hand covering her mouth. Nicholas' blood shot eyes widened in realization and dismissed his weapon.

"I'm sorry! Dear Gods, I... I don't know what came over me. " Nic grabbed the cut appendage with out thinking, a quick activation of his semblance erased the space where the nurse's skin and muscles weren't connected; a flare of aura healing the sliced arm.

Nicholas collapsed into the chair behind him, a wave of exhaustion buckling his legs uncontrollably.

"I believe," the nurse said while gripping his newly scarred arm, "That I am the one who owes you an apology. I should have known better than to startle an exhausted huntsman."

While Nic's arms rested limply beside him, he tilted his head forward staring at the man across from him.

"Gods, I don't even know your name." Nic sighed, "I'm sorry I just… am really worked up about the entire situation." He let his strained muscles go, relaxing an unconscious coil that began the previous day.

The nurse sat in the chair across him, scratching at the newly healed skin.

"Don't mention it. You may be surprised to hear this isn't the first time something like this has happened." A brief pause filled the room as both men leaned back in their chairs.

"My name is Leon, by the by. Pleasure to meet you."

Leon went to stand but stopped after seeing the small blood puddle on the ground. "Oh, right. You."

A red mist percolates out of Leon's hand as the red liquid shakes before floating into the air. A twitch of his hand has the blood orb depositing itself into a hazardous waste bin.

"Neat trick." Nic says from his laid back position, eyes never opening. Leon shrugs.

"It has its' uses."

Leon leaves and another half hour passes before anymore news becomes available.

It's not good news.


	2. Chapter 2 - Birth

-Gods of Boredom-

The Brothers Grimm had always shard different view points in life; even so they loved and respected each other as family.

"I wasn't the one who created those rules, and I am not bound by them any more than you are. Break them, words have no power over beings like ourselves." The Dark Brother said, his form breaking apart into a grotesque and twisted example of a beast of his own design. Black fur and white bones sprouted at unnatural angles, forming a carapace of alien origin.

"I can't." The Bright Brother said, "I … can't. I used a portion of my own power, however very small, in the agreement's creation. Breaking the promise I made to that human could potentially kill me."

The Dark Brother snarled, "So what."He said, raising a great paw and slamming into the void floor. "Our combined strength is plenty to break such bonds. Together we could-"

The Bright Brother sighed in frustration, "Why do you desire to return so-"

"To escape the Hell _you_, trapped us in!"

The void around the pair shifted and changed, the darkness devouring the light.

"These humans are _our_ creations, but _your_ pride-" The Dark Brother spat, "Has trapped the both of us here. I pay for every mistake you made ten-thousand fold every _second_ I stay trapped with you." The void shook in undulating rage, the monstrous being snapping back to a human form. "I am leaving brother. And be it to some new world of my own creation or our old home; I can stay here no longer."

The world grew cold, all light consumed by malicious anger and frustration.

The Bright Brother staggered for a moment, the intensity of the emotions surprising him.

"I never knew you felt that way." He whispered.

The boiling rage evaporated in an instant, the void around them balancing equal parts light and darkness once more.

"No," The Dark Brother sighed, "No, how could you? We have been at odds with each other for so long that it is an easy second nature for me to hide my feelings." The Dark Brother sighed in his own frustration, a long wooden table forming between the pair. Large stacks of paper fell from the sky, filling the entire length with manila folders and legal documents.

"These" The Dark Brother said, gesturing to the table and its contents, "Represent the agreement that you made to that human. Let's go through these to see if you left any obvious holes in it." A stack of neatly titled documents floated onto each side of the table, the first page reading The Rite of Returning. "Knowing you, one shouldn't be too difficult to find. Legal class never was your strong suite." He said, a crooked smile worming its way onto his face.

The Bright Brother stood gob-smacked at his twin.

"That's the first time you've referenced our life before all of this in centuries." he said while gesturing around them. "Why now?"

The Dark Brother snorted while flipping to the next page.

"I have been feeling nostalgic recently. I guess that is related to spending too much alone time with you." His eyes flicked off the document to look briefly at his brother.

"Now hurry up and get to reading, I want to get out of this hell hole as quickly as possible."

The Bright Brother grunted and sat at his opposing chair, a smile forming after turning to the first page.

"It's good to have you back."

"Shutup and read."

-Leon-

Leon spoke over his shoulder while washing up in the delivery prep room.

"What do you mean the kid is having a stroke? Do we know what the cause is?"

Adeline, one of the Labor and Delivery physicians on staff at Vale Medical was also prepping behind him. He had already stepped into his bunny suite, or the sterile covering layer that went over his clothes. Lilly Arc had been brought to the NICU and that meant it took a bit longer to prep and enter her room.

"It means the kid started spasming after he crowned and our Aura Healer was able to find the blockage before her scan completed." Adeline sighed while sliding her gloves on, "And I have no fucking idea why a new born is stroking out. Come on, we don't have much time here."

The prep room opened up to a small holding area and then to the delivery room, maybe fifteen feet all told between him and the patient. He still hadn't recovered from the blood loss from earlier, a sense of nausea and light headed-ness rising from his stomach. He ignored it and backed into the door leading to Lilly's room.

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, or NICU for short, was built like one of those stereotypical hospital rooms you might see in movie or dramatic show. The walls painted a stark pale white contrasted well with the white floors, bed, and equipment. The too-bright lights bounced off the walls and briefly blinded him before adjusting.

The kid was a little under half way out, the worst of the birthing over with, his shoulders and head already being revealed. The vital signs shown on two separate displays were opposing each other; one calming down from an intense stress, the other spiking now as the blood flow in their brain was shorted.

Leon bit his lower lip behind his mask.

"Can we get the kid out quickly, or are we still worried about the mom?" He asked, approaching the delivery bed.

"We have her doped up to such a point that even I am surprised she's awake. The worst is behind us, the baby can be removed with little issue the rest of the way. He should become the priority." Adeline checked the monitor placed on the baby and mother. "We need to be careful though, she is at her breaking point. Probably gonna need to throw her in a stasis chamber until the kid can be dealt with."

"Wait, why? That seems extreme." Leon crouched next to the nurse extracting the kid and aided as his umbilical was cut. With his semblance, he removed the blood and fluid covering the new born and deposited it into the waste removal repository. With the kid placed into the medical basket, patted dry of any remaining particulates and covered with a basic cloth; Leon set to work on the blockage.

"Do we have an estimated time for when this started?" He said, gently… gently holding the new-born's head. His plan is difficult enough on people who can control their aura, let alone someone seeing light for the first time.

"Forty minutes. He kept hiding away, and his mom's aura prevented us from using any of our extraction equipment." Adeline said.

Fuck

Leon activated his semblance and felt the miniature pathways and veins as they overlap in the kid's brain. The location of the blockage became apparent immediately. An angry thing sensed more through emotions than any physical senses. His eyes scrunched up in concentration as he poked and prodded the barrier. He couldn't just break through the buildup, doing so might collapse the blockage, but the sudden rush of blood could be just as damaging as the lack of flow. Not to mention that breaking the buildup improperly could just detach the clot and have it land somewhere else to cause havoc. As a compromise he bored through and forced a small pathway through the plaque that wore away the clot over time. The slowly increasing flow would bring away chunks of plaque that wouldn't cause an issue down the line.

The monitor attached to the mother began to alarm cardiac arrest.

And that is when everything went to shit.

Leon felt the clot he had just poked a hole in refill.

Watched Adeline walk backwards to the prep room.

The whole area exploded in a transparent green color and time moved wrong.

The monitor attached to both patients started flat lining.

-The Gods of Boredom-

The landscape surrounding the pair had changed since their investigation began. The infinite void shrank to create an office building, smoothed red and brown brick. A blonde haired, blank faced office assistant in business casual and black pumps held several manila folders, ready to be handed off when needed. A thick smoke killed the room where a lit cigar smoldered in a glass ash tray. The Bright Brother wore a pair of thin wire glass as he flipped to the next page of his document.

"I think I found it." He said, a finger trailing along a series of definitions. "I think there's a way we can go back to Remnant and pull your little stunt off without being turned to burning ash."

A grunt filled the air as a tall stack of papers disintegrated into black goo. The Dark Brother picked the cigar from its holder and lavished in its sweet flavor.

"I've already been over that section, its written pretty plain and clear." He grumbled, inspecting the the legal jargon once more. "We can't return to Remnant until the four relics are reunited. Even goes on the further define Remnant, the relics, and us."

A quick smirk vanished from the Bright Brother's face.

"Exactly, it goes into great detail. So precise in fact, that it opens a loop hole." He said while standing and walking towards his brother.

"Look here, 'The Grimm Brothers of Creation may not return in full and complete power to the world of Remnant until each Relic is brought together.' Crystal Clear." The Bright Brother's smile grew just a bit wider. "We can't return to Remnant in full and complete power. This contract says nothing about returning with partial power." He said, slapping his brother's should with the document as he did so.

The room grew quite as the Dark Brother tapped the burning ash away and took another drag.

"You brilliant bastard. You did it."

The room shattered, evaporating into the split duality of their bi-colored pocket dimension. The pair stood in their own sides of infinity, a smile blazed on both face.

"So what now? We found your loop hole. We will need to leave a significant portion of our power behind for this journey." The Bright Brother said.

The Series of scrying portals opened once more and the pair turned to watch the newborn's monitor flat-lining.

"We could start here." The Dark Brother said pointing to the child, "Prevent this one from dying, the mother too."

The Bright Brother raised an non-existent eyebrow. "That is surprisingly altruistic from the supposed 'God of Destruction'."

The Dark Brother chuckled and stepped towards the scry portal.

"Means I have spent too much alone time with you. Come, we have a mortal to pull back from the dead." And stepped through the portal.

-Lilly Arc-

Her Semblance had never been a stable one. In fact, she killed someone on her first accidental use; aged a security officer forward until he was a pile of disintegrating bones. She came prepared for the worst when her water broke the previous day. No one could have foreseen the perfectly timed Grimm assault. The stress of it all taxed her ability to control her semblance, but nothing she couldn't handle. The situation had been far worse during her first pregnancy.

When the doctors and nurses finally got their heads on straight, the Hunter Level Meds knocked her on her ass and numbed the pain. She could still feel everything, but each sense was far away; something to be considered and thought about more than experienced in real time. The worst part is the wait. Given the opportunity to look back on it, it may sound rude or maybe inconsiderate but; the labor portion of labor and delivery is rather boring. Tiring, completely exhausting, but boring all the same. You are stuck there, in the bed for Gods knows how long, fighting with your body and child in the world's worst game of tug of war.

Now, sixteen hours later, the only thing she felt was exhaustion. A bone deep desire for sleep and mother's frustration compiled the majority of her current emotions. She was too tired for anything else.

"That's it ma'am, he's crowning now."

Lilly had dutifully remained as quite as possible up and until this point.

Now her screams echoed with her child's.

The worst of it was over.

Her exhaustion began to take her, just a few hours rest would be fine.

It was this point that her Semblance decided to respond to her stress. Her eyes shot open, a green mist pouring from them like a waterfall. Everything she could see altered its flow of time, some items shooting off shelves held by an invisible hand, others becoming dirtied with blood. The female nurse rose from her position and stepped out of the room.

Her baby stopped crying.

Fear racked through her body like a bullet, and responded in kind. Her eyes rolled back, the mist fading from them, and her heart finally gave out. The space-time around her reverted to it's normal flow.

The high pitched squeal of two heart monitors rang simultaneously.

-Nicholas Arc-

The roil of his stomach was second only to the mind numbing fear.

He slammed through the security door like it was paper, he felt his wife die.

"Sir, please return to waiting area!" An orderly tried to reach out for him, and in that moment phased through him as the space in front of Nic was transported behind him. He sprinted through the walls keeping him and Lilly apart. Rebellious tears broke away from him in great drops. He arrived to her room.

He was too late.

-The Brother's Grimm-

"What a terribly boring story. Predictable, poorly written. Lacks any creativity whatsoever." The Dark Brother floated several feet above the baby carriage and pondered the room. "Horrible set design."

"Really, is now the most appropriate time?" The Bright Brother stepped through the portal opposite his twin. For the moment no one would be able to sense their presence here, the flow of time stopped, but their powers would soon be limited. The Dark Brother shrugged.

"While I am delighted to be out of that hell hole," He said and closed the portal behind him, "I am not exactly looking forward to degrading myself into that humans' body for several hundred years." He said while pointing to the child's father.

"Dibs." The Bright Brother spat out in an instant. "Dibs on the dad."

The Dark Brother's jaw went slack.

"You can't just-"

"Dibs."

"It was my plan!"

"Dibs."

The room grew unnaturally quite.

"Fine, take the father! I don't care."

The Bright Brother floated over to the child at his brother's feat.

"This is to be the holder of our power while we are here?" The Bright Brother rested his feet on the ground beside the crib. "A finer vessel could not be found?"

The Dark Brother sighed, "He is the first newborn of this world I could find after we made the decision to come here. Anyone older would not be able to adapt to our combined energy. He comes from a long line of strong warriors. He will do."

The Dark Brother raised his hand, a malevolent black orb of oozing power grew from the center of his palm. "I believe half of each of our power will break the requirements enough to allow our continued safe passage in this world."

The Bright Brother followed suite, a miniature sun growing from his palm.

The Grimm Brothers of Creation may not return in full and complete power to the world of Remnant until each Relic is brought together.

"I am the Grimm Brother of Creation no longer." The white-yellow horns atop his head began to disintegrate away, the energy of flowing into the orb.

"And I am the Grimm Brother of Destruction no more." His horns also disintegrating and flowing into the orb.

"Until our ascendance once more, we give our power willingly to another." The pair said, and pushed their respective orbs into the child's head and heart. The child began convulsing immediately.

"Welp, time to go! Our work here is done." The Dark Brother said and leaped into the child's mother.

The Bright Brother sighed and stepped into the father. "All that dramatic theatrics and he just leaps into the woman at the end."

Their jobs completed, the Bright Brother allowed him self to rest. The process of attaching one's soul to another's always was so draining after all.

-?-

They are deaf and blind.

They turn as they always have, and will ever continue to do.

They feel as two return from their far off journey, their presence an itch that cannot be scratched.

They feel the division of power, the binding of souls.

But They are deaf and blind. Their power grows.

They are deaf and blind.

-Author's Note-

WELL THAT'S IT. I won't be forced to write The Dark or Bright Brother EVER AGAIN, err well at least for a very long time. Gods that was annoying. Anyway, thank you all for sticking around for chapter two. This whole front portion is a kind of a prologue, setting the stage for what is to come.

Review! Stay safe! I love you!

Next Chapter

01-18-20


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